Demon Hunting
by Ares Scribe
Summary: A family torn by the work demons. Ones they've fought for long, long debuts. Now, two are left, and are seperated by the one they never saw coming.
1. Chapter 1

Xanre Comes

Aero walked around his lair, pacing slowly in place. Over the recent years of his life, all of those close to him, left or died. Leon and Rose had left Aero years ago, and it soon came to be they had perished. Now Aero only had his niece Lunness. Leon's only daughter, like Eli, fell for demon-kin. Aero had not heard back from her in many days, and began to worry for his lost niece.

"Where are you?" Aero asked under his breath. He stopped in place a second, and listened to the rain pattering outside the mountain. He noticed some drops hit before others, and the sound continuously came close to him, drawing his curiosity. Aero went to go see what it was, leaving his blade, Lunar Abyss behind in the lair.

As Aero walked outside, he noticed a man, about his height, walking towards him. Seeming harmless, Aero turned his back to the man, and went back inside. He sat in a chair overlooking a table of photographs of his family, and was swiftly consumed with grief.

"I am sorry everyone. I did what I had to, for all of our protection. It sadly, ended up killing the rest of you, and making others leave me alone," Aero cried. He laid his hands across photos of Eli, Leon and Rose, dragging them closer to the edge of the table.

Then there was a pounding at his metal doors, which didn't stop. Aero ignored it, thinking that hard droplets of rain were just smashing against it. He continued surveying the photos, and tears began to fill his eyes. He pushed the three back to their place on the table, and stood up.

"AERO!" a voice boomed from outside. The pounding had ceased for a second as whatever was there screamed, but continued seconds later. Aero grabbed Lunar Abyss, and went towards the door.

"Who is there?" Aero screamed at the door as he neared. The pounding became more violent, and the center of the door began to concave.

"Open the doors!" the voice screamed again. It was very deep, and raspy. Aero had never heard it before, and became furious quickly.

"Tell me who you are!" Aero demanded. The pounding then stopped, and Aero relaxed slightly.

"My name, is Xanre. I'm here to take you to the rest of your family. Lunness told me what happened between you two, and no uncle, let alone man, should treat a girl like that. You will pay for what you put my girl through!" the voice screamed. It then became very apparent to Aero that he would have to fight whatever was coming through those doors.

As that thought left Aero's mind, the doors flew into the empty hall, and skidded to a stop at the end. From the outside, Aero saw the man again. He was wearing a black trench coat over a black shirt and pants. His right eye had an eye patch, which had straps across his face. His hairs covered his whole forehead, and part of his other eye.

His left hand was covered by a black, metallic gauntlet, which stretched halfway up his forearm. His right hand was free, and had a circular tattoo on its palm.

Aero stuck himself to the wall, not feeling so much in the fighting mood. He tried staying out of sight as Xanre passed by him, and barely succeeded. Just as Xanre fully passed his position, Aero jumped across the hall, and slipped into another crevice.

"Where are you going?" Xanre asked. He had appeared behind Aero, and blasted him from the crevice. Aero was now skipping across his hallway, dust flying as he hit the ground. Xanre yet again was behind him, but this time stopped him with a slight kick.

"Get up," Xanre said in a commanding voice. "I expected so much more from you. You used to hold such promise, didn't you? Your brother wished he could be you, but sadly he couldn't. Your father wished to watch you grow, but he couldn't. Your family wished to stay and help you, but, they couldn't. Woops, sorry, can't."

Aero slowly got himself up to a kneeling position, slouched on all fours. As he listened to Xanre's words, he became filled with grief and anger. He knew that he caused some of his family's deaths, but never meant for it to happen. It had also been fifteen years since he last heard John be spoke of, which gave him a new load of grief.

"What do you mean by _can't?_ There is still one more family member left, and I know she would stick by me," Aero told. He then stood to face Xanre, and noticed Lunness behind him.

"No, I won't stand by you anymore. Xanre treats me much better then you have, and he promised me more than you ever could. I hate you!" Lunness screamed.

The words pierced Aero's ears like arrows. His whole body became limp, and Lunar Abyss fell from his hands. His eyes became blank, and skin began to lose color in it.

"So sad isn't it Aero. Now you truly are alone. I've taken your last family member from you. Now, I'll end you, so you can be with the rest of the lot you brutally ended yourself," Xanre chuckled. He inched his way close to Aero, bringing his left hand to his chest. Xanre flicked his left hand out, and from the gauntlet, a foot and a half long blade grew.

"Last words?" Xanre taunted as he lifted Aero into the air with his right hand at Aero's collar. Aero could still not move, he tried to speak, and thrash out. But his body wouldn't follow his thoughts. "None? Okay then."

Xanre pulled his left hand back, then thrust it forward. His blade ripped through Aero's skin with ease. The blade popped out Aero's backside, covered in blood. Xanre dropped Aero's immobile body, and walked back to Lunness.

As Aero's blood made a pool around his body, Xanre and Lunness left the hall. Xanre stopped at the end, and looked back to Aero, smiling at him. The grief in Aero's eyes flickered away as another emotion took over. Hatred.


	2. Chapter 2

Aero's Rage

After hours of laying in his hardened blood, Aero finally found the strength to get up. The hole in his torso had partially closed from the back, and was barely beginning to regenerate on his front side. Aero found himself powerless against gravity, and fell back to the ground. Aero hit the ground, head first, and fell unconscious.

Aero's limp body fell next to Lunar Abyss, close enough to almost touch. As Aero fell into a deeper state of sleep, he felt a power overtake his body. In his mind, he awoke surrounded by darkness. Nothing around him, nothing in sight.

"Foolish boy! How could you let that idiotic demon defeat you? Have you learned nothing over our years together?" a voice screamed at Aero. The shockwave of the voice hit Aero like a wall, and smashed him into the edge of the darkness.

As Aero collided into the wall, he stopped midair, being held up by a pure white hand. Aero looked to see the hand extended to an equally white arm, and then to a body he recognized. He was somehow within Lunar Abyss, or it was in his mind.

"Where are we?" Aero asked. He brushed the hand from his shoulder, and stood on solid ground. When he hit the ground, light fluttered under his feet, setting off in thousands of directions. Lighting up a fallen, deserted city in the distance.

"This is your head boy. You managed to drag us both in here. There is a reason for it," Lunar Abyss spoke. Its hand grabbed Aero again and lifted him from the ground. "Why am I here?"

"To teach," said another voice. From behind Lunar Abyss, shadows conjoined to form another being. A man, that slightly resembled death, yet with angel wings, and a sword instead of a scythe. The sword though, was very familiar to Aero, for it was his blade.

"What are you?" Aero screamed. The figure looked towards him, letting its eyes meet Aero's, with a reddish glint.

"Quite sad you don't know me. That thing holding you isn't what you think it is. My name is Kyonshi," the figure said. It threw the blade at Aero, who caught it in his left hand. A surge of power Aero never felt before flew through his entire body, and blasted Lunar Abyss from him.

"That my friend, is what I'm concealed within," it added. What Aero thought was Lunar Abyss, and its true power the whole time, was wrong. He'd never fully unleashed his blade's potential.

"So then, if you're Kyonshi, what is that?" Aero questions as he points the blade tip at Lunar Abyss' body. The death like figure, Kyonshi, levitated over to Lunar Abyss.

"This my dear boy, is what we used to be. Now though, you've learned my true name, and felt my full power. So now, it is merely another _demon_ within your body to fight, just as Sathuix was years ago," Kyonshi explained.

Aero smiled, waving the blade around his body, feeling the power flow through him. The blade now took a reddish tint to its pure black essence, with a slightly longer chain at the hilt. The chain wrapped itself around Aero's wrist, stopping at his forearm.

"So, what do I do now?" Aero inferred. He straightened his right arm out, and the blade scratched the blackened ground. Kyonshi pushed his old self down before Aero.

"Beat your old shadow, and unleash me fully," it commanded. Aero looked to Kyonshi questioningly, dropping his defense for only a second.

"FOOL!" screamed Lunar Abyss. He lunged forward, manifesting the original blade as he did. Aero quickly reacted by crossing his new blade against Lunar Abyss' lunging, causing both blades to fly into the air. Yet Aero's stayed with his body by the chain.

"I'm the fool?" Aero taunted. He brought his new blade down upon the unarmed Lunar Abyss. The white skinned shadow evaded swiftly, rolling into a full on sprint towards its blade, and the ruined city.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Kyonshi asked. Aero smirked at him, then began sprinting towards Lunar Abyss, retracting the new blade into his hand.

"Come here Lunar! It's your time!" Aero screamed. He was slowly gaining on Lunar Abyss, and every step he took lit the area around him. As the lights grew, so did the city. Regenerating to their former states, all buildings looking as new.

Aero jumped into the air, flipping over Lunar, and landing in the street before him. He thrust his blade forward into Lunar's torso area, but barely missed as it evaded. The shadow landed on the other side of Aero, morphed into a much more familiar face.

"Since when could you do that?" Aero asked. He moved closer to the morphing shadow. When it was finally finished morphing, the shadow was a near exact image of Xanre, but pale white.

"Come on brother, you can't defeat me now can you? Or me?" the shadow said, shifting its face from Leon to Rose.

"Don't you dare mock my family!" Aero screamed. He lashed his new blade against the ground, sending a mass of rocks towards the shadow. After the rocks, or wave of dark energy grew, lashing forward at the shadow.

The shadow of Leon, swiftly evaded the rocks, and blocked the wave of energy with its sword. It deflected it back at Aero, but the wave dissipated before it could reach him. Aero smirked, then lunged forward, yet again chasing after the fleeing shadow.

"Come back!" Aero barked. He jumped furiously after the shadow, leaving indents in the ground. As he sped up to catch the shadow, it disappeared in thin air. All of its power even faded away, leaving no trace of it.

Aero turned to Kyonshi, a look of question on his face. In front of Kyonshi, stood Lunar Abyss, overflowing with power. Yet Aero could not sense it, but he could clearly see it rising.

"What's going on?" Aero asked. He slowly began to walk towards Kyonshi, lowering the blade as he did.

"You cannot defeat him boy. The reason being, he is you. Beating him is like killing yourself, learn my way. Find out how to truly defeat him, and you will know my power," Kyonshi explained. He thrust the power enraged Lunar Abyss before Aero. Lunar Abyss landed on his feet, and looked Aero in the eye.

"Ready boy?" he asked. Lunar Abyss thrust himself forward, jabbing his right hand straight for Aero's solar plexus. Aero smacked the hand away with his left wrist, then countered with a swing of his blade.

Lunar Abyss simply shifted his body sideways, dodging the blade. Aero struck again, and the same thing happened. It seemed useless to attack, but Aero persisted. Lunar Abyss dodged every attack with ease, then jumped far enough away to charge himself.

Lunar Abyss brought his hands together at the hole in his chest. Between his hands, a ball of red energy manifested, slowly growing between them. Soon enough, the hole in his chest wasn't visible behind the ball of energy.

"Learn quick boy, this ball won't stop with ease. Learn how to stop it, or it'll eat you inside out," Lunar Abyss warned. He thrust his right hand forward, sending the ball flying through the air with massive speed.

_What does Kyonshi mean?_ Aero screamed in his head. He began thinking to himself ways to defeat Lunar Abyss, without truly _defeating _him. He tried remembering what Kyonshi was doing when he said that tohim.

_Kyonshi's hands were at Lunar Abyss' back, feeding energy into it, _Aero recalled. He then snapped his head up, and the ball wasn't far from him. _I know what to do!_

Aero raised his blade to his face, holding the hilt at his stomach. As the ball came closer, Aero began to raise the blade higher and higher, until the hilt was at his face. Just as the ball came close enough, Aero swiped his blade down, cut the ball in half, and the blade absorbed it without thought.

"Now I know what you do!" Aero screamed. When he looked to Kyonshi, he thought he saw a smile within the hooded figures face. Aero then smiled, as he ran towards Lunar Abyss for a final assault.

"Tell me how to release you fully!" Aero commanded. When he looked for Kyonshi again, it was gone. Aero was now fighting Lunar Abyss alone, with no true idea how to complete his assault.

"Do not worry, I am here boy," Kyonshi's voice drifted into Aero's head. "Now, you've only learned my ability, not my ultimate form. So I cannot help you release me, yet. But if you concentrate enough, you can steal Lunar Abyss' power from him, and take it back."

Aero smiled as he drew closer to Lunar Abyss. Raising his blade above his head, Aero was screaming gleefully as he crashed down upon Lunar Abyss. Swiping his sword through the air, Aero came to meet the ground within seconds.

Looking up, Aero noticed Lunar Abyss had moved, evading his strike. Glinting as he did so, Aero yet again centered the blade to his body. Fear overtook Lunar Abyss as he started tailing away from Aero.

Aero's blade became a vacuum for power, sucking all of Lunar Abyss' back into it. As the last of his power ebbed away, his body began to fly back as well. He came ever closer to the blade, and just before meeting it, disappeared. Now truly gone, for Aero saw him within the blade.

"Now you are ready to fight Xanre," Kyonshi's voice echoed. Aero fell _unconscious_ in his mind, and became conscious in his world yet again. In his hand was his new blade, Kyonshi. In it, he could see Lunar Abyss squirming violently.

Aero smiled as he tucked the blade into its sheath on the table. He walked to his giant metal doors, leaving his old home behind.

_Now I can repay my family what I owe them, and hopefully, bring them back,_ Aero thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Xanre's Demise

Xanre sat at his inner-forest castle, within his very crafty throne room. Throughout the room, human corpses lay spread across the floor, and pinned to the walls. Across the center of the floor, was a _carpet_ made of stained blood pools. Many weapons were left in the hands of the fallen corpses, most of them left through their necks and chests.

"Madame Lunness, what do you say about my pleasant home? Quite comforting isn't it?" Xanre questioned. He turned from his massive throne, to a half sized version of it to his right. On the other chair, sat Lunness, dressed in the most extravagant of battle armor.

The armor was made of hardened demon skin, with strips of metal holding key joints together. Throughout the armor, an aura of darkness was given off. An aura that Xanre absorbed, and fed on.

"I believe it is quite extravagant if I do say so myself. Sadly, it is missing something," Lunness smirked. She looked to Xanre with a perky smile on her face.

"What would that be my dear?" Xanre asked. He stood up to walk over to her. He laid his hand out, so that she could take it and stand.

"My uncle's dead, mutilated body. Pinned above your doors, like he was crucified there," Lunness chuckled. She took Xanre's hand, and as she pulled him up, flew into his arms.

"That my dear, is quite an idea," Xanre smiled. He bent Lunness back into a dip, going in for a deep kiss. Lunness allowed him to go far enough, then moved her head forward to initiate the kiss.

As the two stood motionless in front of the thrones, Aero peered in through a window just outside. He traced Xanre's unmistakable power to this point. A hidden castle deep within the forest, lying dormant for centuries.

As Aero peered through the stained-glass window, the sight he saw, drove him mad. His blood boiled within his veins, muscles bulged through his shirt. Veins began to pop through his skin in stress. Aero noticed that he was losing control, and slightly calmed himself to a minor temperament.

He jumped across the castle top, and made it to the other side. Facing no opposition, probably because Xanre was _oh so strong_, Aero found his way easily to the throne room.

Xanre continued his kiss with Lunness, not even noticing a power spike in the area. The corpses around the room were vibrating with energy. The bodies slowly began to rise, coming to a reanimated state of life. They convulsed towards the center of the room, then towards the door.

Out if the corner of his eye, Xanre noticed one of the bodies moving. He released Lunness from his grip, and rushed the bodies at his door.

"I've killed you all before, I won't hesitate to do it again," Xanre screamed. As he got closer to the door, it began to be pulled open. Xanre looked closer, and it wasn't being pulled, but pushed from the outside. Xanre tried rushing to the door even faster, but was stopped by three separate corpses.

"Let me go!" he screamed. Slashing and stabbing at the three, Xanre easily dislodged them from his body. Xanre looked to the door again, noticing it was closed. Confused and enraged, he lashed out at the nearest body to him, but was stopped.

"Didn't expect to see me again did you?" Aero asked. He held his blade, Kyonshi, sideways against Xanre's gauntlet blade. Xanre's face was quickly overtaken in shock, then joy.

"Now my room can be complete," Xanre said with a snicker. He dislodged himself from the assault, and jumped back to Lunness. "Where shall I put him dear?" Xanre asked to Lunness.

"Where we had talked about my dear," Lunness answered without hesitation. Xanre smiled, then raised his left hand slowly. Aero's body was lifted from the ground. As Aero was lifted higher into the room, the reanimated dead charged at Xanre.

Distracting him from Aero, the bodies tried to overtake Xanre. Releasing his grip on Aero from a distance, Xanre fell under the dead's assault. Aero dropped to the floor, and rolled.

When he came to a stop, he was next to the three dead corpses. Each of their bodies was terribly mutilated, and many chunks of skin were taken from places. But their faces remained intact, and untouched. As Aero looked upon these bodies, he filled with horror.

Each of the bodies were of his family. The three dead, were Eli, Leon and Rose. Aero reached out to his sister and daughter, pulling them into his body. He then tried to grab Leon, but his body was too frail, and nearly fell apart in Aero's hand.

Hot tears of anger rolled down Aero's cheeks as he held his dead kin in his hands. He could somehow hear their screams echo in his head, and saw their _executions_ right before his eyes. His hot tears began to flow more, as he realized now there was no chance of getting his family back.

Aero stood up, slowly putting his beloved sister and daughter down beside him. The power ebbing around him grew furiously as Xanre yet again killed the many he had before. Watching the massacre drove Aero into a deeper stage of anger. Until the last body dropped, Aero neither moved, nor said a word.

"Well dear, shall I start with your uncle now?" Xanre huffed after his _fight_. He faced Lunness, and as she began to sleep, she fell unconscious.

"Sleep," Aero said. He rose his right hand, and flicked it toward Lunness. A dark cloud formed within her torso area, and she fell to the ground asleep. Aero then faced Xanre, still surrounded by the bodies of the recent dead.

"You! You killed my family!," Aero yelled. His voice boomed deeply within the massive room, shaking the ground around him.

"No, I did not kill them," Xanre answered, "I executed them." As those words pierced Aero's ears, the rage inside him burst.

Releasing a blood curdling roar, Aero's power exploded. Kyonshi was even ebbing off power, with a tinted red aura fighting with Aero's black aura. Xanre slightly staggered under the pressure of the power, but altogether stayed standing.

"I will make you pay for what you did," Aero said through gritted teeth. He slowly began walking forward, burning the ground beneath his feet with each step he took. Xanre smiled as Aero approached him, feeling unthreatened by his coming forward.

"What do you plan to do with me? There is truly nothing you can do," Xanre taunted. He turned into a shadow like substance, which flowed its way towards Aero, then reformed back into himself behind Aero. Whispering in Aero's ear, Xanre said, "Remember, I'm a demon. We tend to not die. I remember even Xlexan survived your multiple attacks to him."

Aero grabbed Xanre's collar, flipped him to the ground before him, and thrust his fist down into it. Xanre disappeared, and Aero ended up smashing a tiny crater into the ground. He got up, shaking his hand to reduce the minor pain it had.

Xanre reappeared at his throne, sitting in it. Taunting Aero to come closer, Xanre winked with his good eye then disappeared again. Re-appearing yet again behind Aero, but a safer distance away.

"May I ask, what changed in less than forty-eight hours, that I should fear from you?" Xanre questioned. Studying Aero for any massive change, he found none. Aero raised the blade to Xanre, and a red energy beam ebbed through the hilt to the tip of the blade.

"This friend, is what is new about me," Aero answered. He lowered the blade to his side, letting the tip just barely scrape the ground. Xanre couldn't help but give out a chuckle, then burst out into total laughter.

"A blade? You're telling me….that useless thing….will change the whole battle?" Xanre got in, between his laughing attacks. He nearly fell to his knees in laughter, Xanre had to double-over to catch his breath.

Aero took this chance to attack, and charged forward. He kicked Xanre's feet out from under his body. Then sped him into the ground with a massive hammer fist to the solar plexus. As Xanre slammed into the ground, Aero's fist followed through, nearly smashing Xanre's ribs from the pressure.

Xanre continued to chuckle, even through the beating. He fell to the ground with such speed and force, he had no idea what happened until his ribs were nearly broken. When Aero's pressure set in on him, Xanre's face became very serious.

"Very good boy," Xanre commented on Aero's assault. He brushed Aero's hand from his chest with ease, then span to a standing position. He pulled Aero in with a vacuum force, then blasted him out with a right palm to the stomach.

As Aero flew back towards the wall, Xanre ran by his body. Timing the moment perfectly, Xanre lifted the leg closest to Aero, launching him into the air. As Aero flew up, he flipped over to face Xanre, who was gone from sight. Xanre was above Aero, coming down on him with full force.

Xanre's feet connected to Aero's back, and sent him hurdling into the wall at horrendous speed. Aero smashed into the wall with such force, it shattered its whole foundation, bringing it down upon him. Xanre landed near the fallen wall, his back turned. Until he heard the sounds of rock chunks being moved.

"Quite a strong one. Should've expected that wouldn't kill you since my stab wound didn't," Xanre told. He turned to face the chunk of rocks, watching Aero rise from them.

Aero's body was covered in black dust. His shirt was falling from his body, and hanging over his pants as extra cloth. His muscles bulged from within his body, sculpting out more under the pressure of his power. Kyonshi was glowing an even brighter red as Aero rose from the pile of rocks, fueling Aero's power even more.

"You should've known, I don't die easily. But you, you will. I will make sure though, that it is painful," Aero explained. He turned and faced Xanre, the fire within his eyes burning like a sun. Xanre began chuckling again.

"Exactly how will you do that?" he asked. That's when Aero smiled, centering Kyonshi to his body.

Behind Aero, grew very dark, nearly pitch black. Through it, a figure came into sight. AS it got closer, the figure became clearer. Wearing a hooded robe, it looked much like Death, but with angelic wings. In its hands was a sword, not a scythe. Even more surprising, the sword was an exact copy of Aero's.

"Xanre, meet Kyonshi," Aero chuckled. He thrust the blade forward, and the figure of Kyonshi flew forward, into Xanre's body. As Kyonshi disappeared within Xanre, Aero's blade lost its reddish tint. Xanre's eyes became filled with the reddish tint that once encircled the blade. Then as quickly as Kyonshi was in Xanre's body, he was out, and back behind Aero.

"That was supposed to do what?" Xanre asked. He charged Aero as if nothing had happened, thrusting his blade forward. But as Xanre's blade met Aero's stomach, it stopped in place, as if connecting with metal.

Aero smiled as he gripped the gauntlet holding the blade. Tearing it from Xanre's hand with ease, Aero snapped his wrist. Aero threw he gauntlet behind him, kicking Xanre as he did so. Xanre's body flew through the air, smashing into another wall, and bringing down that one's foundation, followed by the rest of the room.

"Feeling, weak?" Aero asked. He walked over to Xanre, lifting him from the rubble around him by his collar. Their eyes met, and Xanre saw his power floating around in Aero's body. Aero flung Xanre across the room, and into his throne.

Xanre smashed into his throne so hard, his shoulder shattered, and his throne toppled over onto him. As the throne smashed onto his body, it broke his already snapped wrist, and the forearm. Xanre tried to push the throne from him, but was too weak to lift himself.

Aero arrived at the head of the throne, throwing it from its place. He walked over to Xanre, grabbed his legs, and dragged him down the small flight of stairs before his throne. Xanre's body was covered in blood, from the multiple cuts and gashes across his body.

Yet Aero was not done with this monster. He lifted the beaten demon by his foot, smashing him to the ground on the other side of his body. The force of the smash and snap, broke Xanre's leg in two from the knee down. As Aero held one half, Xanre's body held the other.

Bleeding profusely now, Xanre began to go cold. His blood was now spread across the room, like many of his victims before him. Aero threw the broken leg from his hand, and drew Kyonshi from its sheath. He walked over to Xanre, holding the blade above his head.

As he got closer, Xanre began to cough blood into his mouth, but held it in. His body was unable to move for it'd been broken throughout many joints and tendons. The blood in his mouth began seeping out down his chin, but that didn't stop Aero. Aero lifted Xanre from the ground, holding the mutilated body in the air with joy.

"Last words?" Aero asked with honor in his voice. Xanre spit the stored blood in Aero's face, and Aero smiled. "That so?" Aero snickered as he based his teeth into Xanre's neck, tearing a huge chunk of skin from place.

With that as his last _insult_, Aero swiped Kyonshi across Xanre's neck. Watching as his head rolled from the body, Aero howled in victory. Casting the body aside, Aero grabbed Lunness, and left the falling castle.


End file.
